#shantoria divine
This is a blog post that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. I’ll talk about Models wanting to collab (TFP: Trade for Print) with Photographers in this post. I’d say it’s more so targeted towards beginner models, but who knows it might be helpful for a number of creatives.
What is a Collaboration
The definition of a collaboration is “The action of working with someone to produce or create something”
The key word is “with” in the definition. Both parties or everyone involved needs to contribute and pull their own weight in the collaboration. For me it’s like a group project for example: Yes you’re in the same group. You’re “working together” but it’s not really a collab if only one person (the photographer) is doing all the work.
A collaboration with a photographer does NOT mean you’re getting a free photoshoot. Both the model and photographer should benefit from working together on a collaboration. Please don’t expect the photographer to always have a studio, MUA or high fashion clothes ready for you.
What I Look for in a Model
I can’t speak for all photographers on what they expect or look for in a model, since everyone has their own aesthetic and different preferences. Here I’ll just be sharing the basic things that I expect from a model if they wanted to collaborate on a shoot with me.
To start, it doesn’t matter how “pretty” you are. I don’t care how photogenic someone is because anyone can be a model and modeling isn’t all about your looks. I need a model that knows how to expressandemote for the camera. You need to know your body and how to work your angles. Your poses don’t have to be super dynamic, but knowing how to pose on your own is preferred.
You honestly have to be able to act without words. Even if I was showing you how to pose or how to do your facial expressions, the photos still wouldn’t be usable for my portfolio if you’re not 100% confident or in character. As a photographer I can only do so much to help you, I can tell you what to study and what to work on etc.
But at the end of the day it’s your job to hone your craft. If you want to model, then dedicate time to polishing your skills. Photographers don’t want to work with someone who isn’t striving to improve and deliver to them what they want/need from them for a shoot.
I’d suggest: Researching some acting lessons on YouTube, as well as “how to pose” videos and model facial expression videos. Practice your Facial Expressions and Poses in the mirror. Have a friend be your practice photographer and also research modeling of course. Don’t knock America’s Next Top Model either, that show has tones of great advice and tips!
Oh and if you’re able to do your own makeup or at the very least, wear BB cream or a tinted moisturizer with a translucent face powder that’s very helpful. The camera really gets every detail and having makeup makes things a lot smoother in the editing process for photographers. Trust me I’m not a huge makeup person, but if you research Vegan makeup that’s a good way to start out and also just take care of your skin in general.
Have a Model Portfolio
If you’re a creative of any kind, your account needs to be public. Nobody has time to follow your Private account to see what your portfolio looks like. Make two accounts: One for your Personal Life and one for your Portfolio, if you don’t want certain photos to be seen as public.
If you ask to collab with a Photographer and they can’t quickly see what images you have on your social media or you don’t have a link to send them to your Portfolio page. Most of the time they’re just going to tell you to book a session or not waste time trying to see what’s on your private account. So please make sure your account is setup where photographers can easily see what you look like. Make sure you have both headshots and full body photos. And it also helps to make a Model Mayhem account as well.
It’s okay if you don’t have professional photos, just make sure the photos on your Model Profile are good quality. Cellphones these days take really good photos, you just need to make sure: You look put together, The lighting is good and There’s no messy background or distractions in the photo. As long as the photographer can clearly see what you look like, that’s all that matters.
Alright. If you’re asking to collab with a professional photographer over Instagram, they’re not going to care how many followers you have or how many likes you get on your photos. It’s because they’re not doing photography for fun or as a hobby, it’s their job and they have bills to pay just like everyone else.
Just because you have more followers than the average person, doesn’t mean that’s going to benefit the photographer or make them want to shoot with you. Even if some of your followers end up following the photographer, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to book a session with them. Followers and likes don’t equal paying clients for the photographer, they can’t live off of “exposure”
They spend years honing their craft and photography skills. Learning how to use their camera, equipment and editing programs, which costs them thousands maybe even millions of dollars to invest in. It takes a lot of money to hold up a photography business, photography in general is expensive to get into. So why would someone put in all that time, money and effort just to shoot in exchange for a few social media likes or followers?
Please keep in mind that if you “Just want a few photos” or aren’t trying to seriously model, the photographer isn’t in the wrong for not wanting to collab with you or sending you their rates. If you really like their work and they feel like they can’t benefit from doing a TFP (Trade for Print) shoot with you. Show them that you respect them and what they do by booking a session; who knows it might end in you collaborating in the future.
And if you don’t have the money to book a session, keep it classy and respectful. Photography is a luxury service, just like going to the salon or spa. It’s not for everyone and that’s understandable, but plenty of people save up for it or invest in it if it’s important to them or their lifestyle. Don’t complain about the price because they’re charging their worth. Simply thank them for answering your inquiry and live your best life.
Contacting the Photographer
I feel like you should always email the photographer if you’re trying to contact them about a shoot or collaborating. You don’t have to write an exact business format email. I don’t like it when people sound too robotic when they contact me, always show some personality if you can. Just be sure to do the basic things: Introduce yourself, explain how you found their work, ask if they’d like to collaborate on a shoot with you and leave a link to your portfolio so they can actually put a face to who they’re talking to.
If you try to contact them on IG or social media, I feel like they already have a lot of people trying to contact them and DM’s aren’t for serious conversations. Especially if they’re very popular, then there’s no way for them to answer every single person trying to talk to them. DM’s are cool if you’re just trying to get to know them or have a regular conversation. But don’t harass them about a shoot if they’ve already turned you away or act like you should get a free shoot, just because they’ve talked to you a few times.
Also keep in mind that photographers have different niches that they shoot. Don’t go to a portrait photographer asking for boudoir photos if you don’t see any boudoir photos in their portfolio. Some photographers are open to shooting different genres, they like being able to switch things up or “shoot everything” and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Personally for me. I feel like I could shoot anything, but prefer to shoot what I’m most passionate about and that gets me excited. If I shoot something that I don’t vibe with or don’t really like doing, then that’s going to result in me not giving the shoot my all. And I don’t want to do a half-ass job because I wouldn’t want to disappoint the model or client’s expectations.
Alright, I think the best way to prep for a shoot is to really communicate with the photographer. Meeting them beforehand to talk about the shoot gives you both a chance to get to know each other and clear everything up on what’s going to happen the day of the shoot. If meeting in person is too out of the way, FaceTime or a phone call is also very helpful.
Ask them to send you the Mood Board for the shoot. Ask if there’s anything you need to bring, how you should dress, how to wear your hair or makeup, if there’s any props you could help bring etc. Whatever you’re wearing or need, lay it all out for the next day and have everything ready so you’re not scrambling in the morning. Be sure you know where the shoot location is and leave on time to get there at least 10-20 minutes early.
The day before make sure you have your model bag ready. A model bag is basically a bag that you pack anything essential that you might need during a shoot. I highly recommend researching what to keep inside it on YouTube, but the main things are flesh or nude colored undergarments. Personal hygiene items. Any medicine you might need. Black heels and comfortable flats. Any beauty or hair products for touch ups. A power bank for your phone. And of course water and healthy snacks.
When it comes to prepping your skin, please make sure you exfoliateyour face!!! It really makes a difference and you should be doing it at least once a week anyway. Also doing a face mask helps, along with an acne treatment if you think you need one and a facial toner. And don’t forget to shave and moisturize your body as well.
After the Shoot
After the shoot, please do not harass the photographer over when the photos will be ready. If it was a collaboration (TFP) shoot, that means they took your photos for free and will edit them as a courtesy. Their clients photos come first since they were ahead of you and have already paid for their photos to be edited. Ask the photographer what the turn around time should be for when you receive the edited photos and they should email them to you within the timeframe they gave you.
Some photographers choose the photos to edit on their own and others like myself, let the model choose a few favorites that they’d like edited. When the photographer sends you the preview photos to let you choose which photos you’d like edited, please do NOT post them!! Those photos are unprocessed and do not reflect the photographers true work, if you do so they probably will never work with you again.
So the best thing to do is be patient and allow the photographer time to edit your photos. Usually the finished edited photos are better than the unedited ones that they sent you to preview anyway, so it’s worth the wait. Trust me, the photographer wants to see the final images as much as you do.
And once you do get the edited photos, please be sure to back them up! Save them in at least three different places: flash drive, email, google drive, iCloud, Amazon Photo, Facebook etc. The photographer most likely will not still have them weeks later because they’re always taking photos. It takes up a huge amount of space on their laptop and they can’t keep anything that’s not important for their portfolio or website.
When it comes to posting the photos, be respectful of how much work the photographer put into taking and editing them for you. If you want them sized for IG, ask if they’re able to do that for you ahead of time. Do NOT put any filters on their photos, alter them in any way or edit them yourself.
If you take the time to watch any YouTube tutorials on Photoshop Retouching, editing photos takes a good 3-5 hours depending on the type of photo and how the photographer edits. Please do not ruin their hard work and slap them in the face by manipulating their photos. I would hope that you wanted to work with them because you liked their editing style in the first place. It makes no sense to work with them, just to change what makes their work so special.
It also violates the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, which states that the creator of the photographs owns the photograph as soon as they’re created. The photographer retains the right to make any changes or copies unless they specify otherwise. That means if you do alter the photographer’s photos, you’re breaching that photographer’s copyright. Whether they filed their copyright with the Secretary of State’s office or not.
So to avoid any drama or never being able to shoot with them again, just post the photos how you’ve received them.
Crediting the Photographer
When you post the photos, please also be sure to credit the photographer. It doesn’t have to be an advertisement, you don’t have to make a huge deal about it. Simply at the end of your caption type “Photo by…” or “Photography by…” and @ their username + tag them in the actual photo. And if there was a makeup artist, hair stylist, wardrobe stylist or creative director please be sure to tag them as well.
Everyone involved in the shoot should be credited, that way it opens more opportunities for them to get work or collaborate in the future. And if you worked with more than one photographer on a collaboration, please be sure to only tag the one photographer who took the photo you posted. Do not tag both in a photo, if you don’t know who took it just ask for clarification.
Good Luck!
I know this is a long ass read, but I put a lot of effort into making sure I shared as much information as possible. Please be sure to click the links I’ve provided, they’ll give you even more tips and advice that I wasn’t able to get into. For 2019 I want to get a little more personal on social media and Tumblr has always been very encouraging of me expressing myself.
Here’s to creating and improving as much as possible as creatives and remembering why we fell in love with our craft in the first place~
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When you finally make a model friend that you can do spontaneous photoshoots with
Photographer:Shantoria Divine
Model:Tevin
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I haven’t shot in probably over a year and my fellow photographer friend, Senon, encouraged me to get out and shoot for 2021. We took these in the freezing rain and I was really outside of my comfort zone! This was more of his style of shooting, I’m not into anything grungy and prefer more colorful and vibrant locations. However, I’m thankful for the push to try something new and just be able to create for the hell of it without overthinking everything.
Photographer:Shantoria Divine
Muse:Senon
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As a photographer I sometimes get envious of traditional artists who are able to draw. They can create whatever they want in their artwork using their imagination or reference photos.
However for most of my photography concepts I have to invest in props, clothes, makeup, equipment, etc. I’m not a master at Photoshop, so I’d rather have everything I need in person vs. having to make a composite or fix everything in post.
Not a lot of people realize how much work the photographer puts into a shoot and that’s why the model usually gets all the credit or is the only thing talked about from a photo. 
In reality most shoots I’ve been on the photographer had to pose the model for each click of the camera because they weren’t experienced. But a good model definitely makes things get done quicker and really can bring the photographers vision to life.
2020 I really wanted to start creating some of my more dramatic concepts. But my biggest setback is figuring out how I’m going to be able to afford certain props and clothes needed for my visions.
I’ve already made a post giving new models tips on how to collab with photographers. So now I’d like to give some advice to photographers on how to collaborate with fellow photographers for a shoot.
To start off, if you’re brand new to photography or have just gotten your DSLR. I’d suggest finding local photography events in your area, try searching on Facebook Events,Meetup.comorEventbrite. You can also try finding photography meetups on Instagram by searching for hashtags in your area.
For example: I live in Virginia and the closest city near me is Richmond, so I always search “#RVAphotography or #RVAphotographers” If you’re willing to travel, you can also search for events in other city’s close to you. Virginia doesn’t really have any photography meetups, so I discovered StreetMeetDC by searching the DMV and DC hashtags for photography.
By going to photography events, you’re able to meet other photographers in person. I feel that it’s best to meet in person before trying to collab with someone, just to make sure you get along. Don’t try to collab with someone just because you want to shoot photos like them or want them to teach you how they do their photoshoots. A collab is not a free photography workshop.
Youboth should benefit from working together. It wouldn’t be a collaboration if one person is doing most of the work or you expect to just show up and the other photographer has set everything up already. If you want to collab with another photographer whose more experienced, I would suggest asking to be an assistant on one of their shoots first. It’s possible to collab with someone whose at a higher skill level than you. I would just suggest getting to know them first or let them know you’re willing to help in any way possible for the collaboration.
If you’re looking for other photographers to collab with on Instagram, make sure you have a nice portfolio on your profile and that it’s public. Try to find photographers who are at the same skill level as you if possible, it’s easier to find people who will agree to collab with you if your work looks similar.
If they have an email on their profile, try emailing them about collaborating together before going straight to their DM’s. In the email introduce yourself, leave a link to your portfolio. Tell them that you’re in their area and interested in collaborating together. Tell them your concept for the shoot and link them to the mood board on Pinterest. I would also DM them after emailing them, to give them a heads up to check their email.
To setup a collab with another photographer, you both have to divide the work. Someone has to find a legit model who knows how to pose, get a makeup artist, hairstylist, find a location or studio space, wardrobe for the model, props, equipment, etc. Not to mention scheduling everything, so that it works for everyones availability whose involved in the photoshoot.
Of course, everything will depend on what the concept is for your collaboration shoot. It’s probably best to have one or two concepts in mind, when asking to work with another photographer. Also be sure to have a mood board ready for when you contact them about collaborating together. Make it as easy as possible for them to understand what kind of shoot you want to do, so they’re more likely to say “yes” and agree to work with you.
Remember collaborating is a team effort, it’s okay to come up with a concept together and compromise on how you want to go about things moving forward. Just be sure to have some idea of what you want to shoot with the other photographer, be as organized as possible. Pinterest makes it very easy to make a mood board for your concept and share it with someone.
Some good examples of photographers successfully collaborating together for a photoshoot are Jessica Kobeissi and her Shoot the Same Model challenge, Irene Rudnyk and Anita Sadowska collab often as well. I also like how Alycee & Destiny work together on their collabs. But honestly, you should be able to find plenty of good examples by searching Photographers Shoot the Same Model on YouTube.
Besides being sure that everyone pulls their own weight. I feel like the main thing for a collaboration to work between photographers, is that you get along with each other. It’s one thing when someone in the collaboration feels like they’re being used for their resources, but it’s another when the both of you don’t vibe and it affects your work or makes the model uncomfortable. So please be sure to FaceTime or meet the other photographer in person when trying to setup a collaboration shoot.
Hopefully this information was helpful to some photographers. Please share and add onto it if you feel I left anything out. And good luck on your future collaborations!!
